Into The Howling Black
by Serenity Searcher
Summary: The region of Unova has an ancient cycle, the battle between Black and White. Thomas, a young Pokemon trainer is flung head first into this cycle and with the Unova region poised on the brink of a conflict unlike any other. He must discover his destiny and the destiny of his own Pokemon who face their own mortality if they lose a battle.
1. Prologue

So this is a write up of my Nuzlocke adventure through Pokemon Black. A Nuzlocke is essentially Pokemon hard mode because you are only allowed to catch the first Pokemon you see on each route and if a Pokemon faints it cannot be used again. I hope you enjoy this story.

**Prologue**

"It is returning, can you feel it?" The voice echoed across the empty space, the empty space the two Legendary Pokémon resided, not in the world but not out of it either.

"Yes, there is nothing else that feels like this, I think we have about two years until it surfaces properly. Two human years that is." The second voice echoed from the darker side of the space.

The two Pokémon existed in a realm of Light and Darkness, Yin and Yang, Black and White, a realm of constant opposition and constant balance, they needed each other and the world was about to need them.

"I can't find any trainers that would make a hero in the time we are talking about."

"What about we search the present? I have located a Trainer which might be strong enough, with my help of course." The voice from the lighter side of the space echoed and showed an image of a young boy with brown hair and brown eyes. "He will need to be tested of course but he has the potential."

The voice on the darker side rumbled its agreement; it showed an image of a young man with green hair and kind eyes. "This is my hero; he is the son of a man that poses a threat to the world by himself, that is my choice."

The two voices had been through this cycle many times before each time choosing a hero but this time the stakes were higher, the world faced a threat it had not faced since the region of Unova was formed.

The two voices had to trust that their heroes would find the power they needed to save their world.


	2. The journey begins

**The Journey Begins**

Thomas was lounging in his armchair watching Cheren impatiently tapping his foot trying to hold back a smirk. Even after all these years Bianca was late, they had tried to change it but that had failed and now Thomas just accepted that they would always be waiting for her, Cheren on the other hand hadn't learnt that lesson yet.

A few more minutes of waiting and Cheren leapt to his feet and started pacing, Thomas just chuckled. He knew how Cheren felt, waiting for Bianca was sometimes tiresome but Thomas always had a source of entertainment when it was the two of them waiting for Bianca: Cheren was far less patient than he was and so would eventually get frustrated and Thomas just sat there and enjoyed it.

"Of course you would laugh Thomas, you never seem fazed by anything but in case you have forgotten today is the day we get our first Pokémon." Cheren said as he continued pacing up and down the room.

"How could I forget that considering there is a massive box in the middle of the room you dolt? And as entertaining as it is could you please stop trying to turn my rug into two pieces please? I happen to like that one." Cheren looked down and saw his pacing was taking him right across Thomas' new rug. They had 'accidentally' destroyed the old one because...well, it was ugly. Bianca fell through the door as Cheren had been about to reply effectively ending that conversation.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. Are the Pokémon here already? I do still get a choice don't I? Please I won't be late again." Bianca was pleading and oblivious to the large box with an untouched gift ribbon on top but Thomas couldn't help himself.

"Yeah the Pokémon are here but there was a mistake at the lab and there were only two so Cheren and I took them. Sorry Bi guess you'll have to come with us to the lab later today then." Thomas laughed as he got up, cracking his stiff shoulder as he opened the box.  
"Only joking Bi they are all still here Cheren was nice enough to keep me in check waiting for you. I was ready to grab one and go as soon as they arrived." Bianca beamed at Cheren, there was definite adoration in her face but Cheren seemed to miss it every time.

The three of them gathered around the box as Thomas opened it with all three of them reaching out for the same Pokémon with Thomas' hand on the ball. He gave the pair of them a grin and pulled his chosen ball out of the box.

"My house so I get this one that ok by you two?" He was grinning as he pressed the button on the ball and released a Snivy. There was something different about this one though: instead of mud brown they eyes were a beautiful blue and there were thin white lines over her body with a strong pattern on the tail leaf.

"Hey there little fella, looks like I'm going to be your trainer." The Snivy looked quite annoyed at his comment and turned to face him.

"Ok first off my name is Flick and secondly I'm only going to tell you this once so please pay attention, I am a female Snivy" Thomas fell over at hearing human speech from the Snivy who apparently wanted to be called Flick he turned around to see that Bianca has chosen Oshawott and Cheren had Tepig.

"Did either of you hear my Snivy speak just now?" Thomas asked, trying to regather himself from the shock watched as both his friends shook their heads. He turned back to Flick "Why am I the only one that can understand you Flick? I'm sorry for calling you a guy." Flick looked as surprised as Thomas must have when she first spoke.

"Ok so you can understand me and no one else has before, this is interesting. Can you understand what the other two Pokémon are saying?" Flick was over the shock already and wondering why so Thomas just listened but all he could hear was the other Pokémon saying their names over and over.

"Nope can't understand a word, I've also never seen a Snivy with markings like yours Flick, you think they might be related?" Flick looked at herself for the first time and noticed the white markings and looked shocked again.

"They were not there this morning, you don't think it's something that comes with being your Pokémon does it? I kind of like it, makes me different from other Snivy. " Flick gave a nod of approval and Thomas grinned. Bianca raised the topic that everyone was hoping for.

"Who wants a battle? I want to see how this little guy goes. It should be fun." Bianca smiled at everyone in the room and waited for someone to make their move. Thomas was pumped he got up and accepted her challenge.

Flick and Oshawott lined themselves up in the middle of the room Flick looking confident and ready for action. At a word from their trainers the two Pokémon charged at each other and met head on, Oshawott coming off the worse for wear. Standing up Oshawott shook his head to clear it then charged again. Flick used her speed to easily dodge out of the way and slam her tail into Oshawott, knocking it out of the fight.

"Oh bad luck there Neptune". The Oshawott, apparently known as Neptune got up and gave a small bow to Flick as Bianca tended to his injuries. Thomas looked at Flick and raised an eyebrow.

"Neptune? So do all Pokémon have names?" Flick rolled her eyes in response.

"Well duh, or are you telling me there are humans without names out there? I only know the names of these two because I've been with them for a while. Neptune is nice, he's good to hang out with but Chris over there isn't nearly as much fun." Flick looked like there was more to the story but didn't continue.

"Chris? Really there's a Tepig called Chris?" Thomas laughed at the simplicity and at the same time humanity of it. Flick wasn't as impressed.

"His dad wasn't the nicest Pokémon in the world, and Chris was the less able of his four kids so he got called Chris P. Bacon. Poor guy can't exactly live down the shame of it now." Thomas stopped laughing.

"Hey guys according to Flick who speaks English to me for some reason your Pokémon have names. Bianca yours is named Neptune and Cheren your Tepig is named Chris." Thomas left out the rest, trying to spare the poor Pokémon. "Say Cheren how about we have a battle now?" Thomas flashed a grin, ready for anything.

"Of course, let's see if you two are as good as you looked in your battle." Again at a command from their trainers the two Pokémon charged at each other head on, Chris having more power behind his Tackle, knocking Flick aside and coming back for another hit. Flick managed to dive aside and started using her superior speed to lead Chris on a merry chase around the room until he stopped for a moment, panting. Flick then unleash a vicious attack that knocked Chris out of the fight.

"What the hell is going on up there?" Thomas's mum was yelling from downstairs, obviously the battles had been pretty noisy.

Thomas and the others looked around the room which was now a total mess, which Thomas would probably have to clean. An idea came to Thomas "Hey, since we got our Pokémon how about we go see Professor Juniper and thank her, in person, before mum notices this mess, like now?" Thomas was nodding furiously, trying to get them to agree. He burst out laughing when they both nodded.

"Mum we're going to Professor Juniper's to thank her for the Pokémon." Thomas yelled as he came down the stairs, and was almost to the front door before his mother caught his attention.

"Thomas you forgot your phone, it's on the table. If you do have to go on a journey let me know ok. Now run along I'll see you again soon." His mother smiled as they raced out the door. As the door closed behind the three kids Thomas' mother said to herself "Odds are one of those three will have to take on the same role as Thomas's father. I can only hope that they are up to the task."

The three teenagers arrived at Juniper's lab to find her waiting for them. "So are you three happy with your choices?" The three teens all nodded "Good now I have some Pokéballs for each of you. I also have these letters for each of you to give to the Striaton Triplets. Take care you three." Juniper smiled as Bianca and Cheren left but Thomas remained behind. "Can I help you Thomas?"

"Yeah my Snivy; Flick has weird markings on her and I was wondering if you know what it means." Thomas released Flick from her ball. Juniper knelt down and looked at Snivy seeing the strange markings.

"I'm sorry Thomas, I have no idea what those markings are. Best of luck on your journey." Thomas recalled Flick and left the building, racing to catch up to his friends. Juniper pulled out her mobile and called someone. "I think it's starting again, he's coming with a letter, let me know if I'm right." Juniper hung up the phone and went back to work.

The journey of Thomas, Cheren and Bianca had begun and Unova would never be the same.


	3. The stake of things

The stake of things

"Hey guys since today marks the start of the next part of our lives, I think we should all take that first step together." Bianca had stopped the boys from dashing on ahead to Accumula Town.

Thomas gave a laugh "Sure thing Bi, this will be one of the last things the three of us do together at the same time. We are not going to be the same people when we all get back together. It's the end of Summer now so how about at the end of next summer we all meet back here, no matter what." Thomas said to his best friends.

Cheren spoke up next "One year from today huh? Well I'm sure we will see each other on our journeys but I like that idea Thomas. Best of luck you two." Cheren said, grabbing Bianca's hand.

Going slightly pink at Cheren's touch Bianca took Thomas' hand and the three of them took the first steps of their journey. They walked side by side for a few minutes until they came to a three way split in the road.

"Well this looks to be the point where we begin to go our separate ways. Good luck to the both of you and see you in Accumula Town." Thomas said choosing the rightmost path with Cheren and Bianca taking the other two.

Thomas casually strolled down the road enjoying the warmth of the day when he heard a rustling off in the grass to his left. He reached down to his belt for his Pokéball as a Lillipup came rushing out of the grass on the edge of the road.

"Flick, I choose you." Thomas said, throwing the Pokéball. Flick appeared in a flash of light and stared at the Lillipup.

"Well this should be entertaining. " Flick said as the battle began with the Lillipup charging in for a Tackle.

"Use your speed Flick, dodge those attacks" as fast as Flick was the Lillipup was able to keep up with her. Flick jumped from tree stump, to boulder to tree and always the Lillipup was right behind her.

"New plan Flick, hit as hard as you can with Tackle." Flick landed on a tree stump and launched herself at the Lillipup. The two Pokémon collided in mid-air with Lillipup getting knocked away. Flick pressed her advantage with a second Tackle.

"All right, time for the Pokéball" Thomas said as he threw the ball. A bright white flash lit up the ball and it transformed into a pure white ball with a blue band. The ball lit up with a brilliant white flash upon impacting the Lillipup and wobbled a few times before coming to rest with the Lillipup inside.

Thomas brought the Lillipup out of its strange new Pokéball to see if he was able to talk to it as well. The Lillipup from its brief time in the ball had gained some strange white markings on it similar to Flick.

"Oh wow that was fun; I haven't met anyone as fast as me before. Can we go again?" The young Lillipup was very excited by the prospect of meeting a Pokémon faster than him. "I'm Daskin, the fastest Lillipup around, and who are you two?" Daskin was bouncing with energy.

"I'm Thomas and this is Flick, we have just started our journey together but already it seems like it is going to be a strange one. Come on were not going to get to Accumula Town before dark at this rate." Thomas said and the three of them continued towards their destination.

…

An hour later Thomas and the Pokémon stopped for a break in the shade when another trainer walked up to them. He looked to be about the same age as Thomas, with a black shirt and blue jeans and spiked up hair.

"Hey trainer, how about a quick battle? You look like you just started out like me so this should be fun. I'm Alan by the way." He extended his hand to Thomas who took it and stood up.

"Thomas. So just a quick one-on-one be fine for you? I've got a new catch I want to try out," turning to his Pokémon he said "Daskin you're up." Daskin leapt up and growled eager to test his strength.

"That looks like a strong Lillipup, I choose Zippo." In a flash of light a Charmander appeared eager for battle.

"Now Zippo use Ember," a small fireball was launched from the lizard's mouth, forcing Daskin to leap away "keep using Ember Zippo, don't give him a chance to attack." Several more fireballs followed but Daskin's speed kept him safe from the flames.

"Enough dodging, go in for a tackle Daskin." Daskin dodged the last fireball and slammed into the Charmander with a Tackle powerful enough to knock it out.

Alan stood there in shock for a few moments before smiling. He recalled his Charmander .

"That was fun, that is an impressive Lillipup. Maybe one of these days I'll see just how tough your Snivy is. Best of luck on your journey Thomas." Alan started walking back towards Nuvema Town before Thomas shouted after him.

"Hey, Accumula Town is that way" Thomas said surprised, thinking Alan was going the wrong way but the trainer simply raised his hand in farewell. Shrugging off Alan's behaviour Thomas continued walking to Accumula Town.

…

The sun was low in the sky when Thomas arrived in Accumula Town to a large gathering of people in the square. Standing on a stage before them was a man dressed in rich, purple robes with green hair and a strange device over one eye. Behind him stood eight men in uniform each with the crest of a shield split into a black half and a white half with a large blue P in the middle. The man in the robe called for quiet and began to speak.

"The myths and legends of this land are built on truth, a cycle that has repeated itself since the region was formed, an endless battle between Black and White. I am Ghetsis, studying this cycle is my life's work. My research has revealed that this cycle will be a particularly devastating one, possible the most destructive since it all began." The man; Ghetsis paused for a moment as if thinking through his next words carefully.

"The entities of White and Black will choose a hero each and they shall battle multiple times. Innocent people and Pokémon will be brought into the struggle and hundreds, if not thousands will die. Unova might be completely destroyed which is why I have formed Team Plasma to help me hunt down the Hero of White and make sure that the conflict does not get out of hand. I promise you, that Unova will not be destroyed but I need your help. If you learn of someone who can talk to his Pokémon inform a member of Team Plasma. I bid you good day." With a bow Ghetsis left the stage, followed by the men in uniform.

Thomas felt his stomach churn; being able to talk to Pokémon might lead to the Unova Region being destroyed? He had only started his journey that morning and already it looked as though it was going to go badly.

Across the square there was a teenager with long green hair, with a baseball cap for the Castelia City Corphish, white jacket and blue jeans watching Thomas throughout Ghetsis' speech. After the speech he came walking over to Thomas with a Purrloin weaving between his legs.

"Hey trainer, looking a bit confused at the speech there." The mysterious trainer said as he approached Thomas who upon hearing the voice looked up from his musings.

"A bit, why would being able to talk to Pokémon lead to destroying the Unova Region?" Thomas asked, meeting the eyes of the new trainer.

"The Heroes of Black and White get their strength from the bonds they have with their Pokémon and being able to understand Pokémon speech helps increase the strength of those bonds. May I speak with your Pokémon? I would like to see what bonds you have formed." The mysterious teenager asked politely.

"I'm Thomas and sure, speak to Flick." Thomas pressed a button on his Pokéball and Flick appeared in a flash of light. The trainer knelt down and started talking to Flick.

"You are a very good looking Snivy, with some unusual markings" he said noticing the white markings on Flick's back and tail. "Tell me; do you like being with Thomas here?"

"I love it, it's great to be understood by my trainer, this is going to be a fun journey. You can understand me as well?" Flick was shocked to have found two humans in the one day that could understand her.

"So you can understand Pokémon speech as well Thomas? There is something else I want to learn from you today Thomas, something that can only be learned through battle. My name is N, come at me with all your skill." N stepped back to give their Pokémon room for the battle." Nibbles let's start with a Scratch attack."

Nibbles the Purrloin raced towards Flick, taking a swipe that narrowly missed the green lizard. Nibbles chased after Flick, swiping each time he got close but Flick was dodging as though her life depended on it.

"Hold still you silly lizard, this won't hurt much." Nibbles panted as Flick danced out of the way once again.

"You are very fast, but not quite fast enough." Flick panted as well, the sheer speed of this match was taking its toll on both of them.

Nibbles gave another slash with his claws, missed again but this time left himself vulnerable to counterattack.

"Flick use Vine Whip." Thomas shouted, taking the offensive for the first time. A long green vine came out of Flicks hand, cracking across Nibbles' face several times. "Now follow it up with a Tackle."

Flick charged at the Purrloin that failed to dodge in time and everyone there heard a very loud crack and saw that Nibbles' head was twisted at an unnatural angle. Nibbles was quite clearly dead.

"So that part of the stories was true as well." N mused " Thomas now you know the stake of things, talking to Pokémon is a blessing and a curse, we will have the black cloud of death hanging over our heads from now on." N scooped up the body of his Purrloin and left Thomas there, to deal with the knowledge of his own curse.


	4. Pokemon Don't Die

**Pokémon don't die**

A Pokémon was dead, not fainted , dead. It was Thomas' fault, he had ordered Flick to make the attack that killed Nibbles. Thomas followed N to the edge of the town where he was digging a pit on a small hill overlooking a field of flowers, it was a beautiful spot really. It was obvious that the pit was a grave for Purrloin, Thomas slowly approached N, grabbed a shovel and helped him dig.

'I am truly sorry about Nibbles, I had no idea he would die, I didn't even know Pokémon could die. If I could take it all back I would. " Thomas' apology was cut short by a quick look from N.

"This is bigger than just one Pokémon. Have you heard the story of Black and White?" Thomas shook his head "well the story goes that there are two guardians of this world; one of the White, and one of the Black. These two guardians don't always work as a team but they always work in tandem; one is never strong enough to protect the world on their own. Are you following me?" N asked.

"Not at all, the way you said that sounds like these guardians are enemies. That Ghetsis guy said that these two 'guardians' as you called them are going to destroy Unova with their battles. How can the people that will destroy Unova protect it?"

"History is never as clear as it seems, I think that truth is somewhere between the two. My father thinks that there will be a war, one that will be started by one of the guardians. I don't know what to believe at the moment, which is why I sought you out." N placed the body of Nibbles in the grave and Thomas and N started to fill in the whole.

"So N, if you are uncertain of what you need to do why don't you let me handle it? You said that only one guardian is ever needed and if it means you don't have to go through this again I'll handle it for you." Thomas' question was only answered by the sound of the shovels shifting the dirt. The hole was full before N spoke again.

"I appreciate the thought but my father won't…" N stopped talking and started looking around.

"Your father wouldn't what?" Thomas asked quite confused as N put a finger to his lips and then Thomas heard it; a soft crying sound. The two young men followed the sound to find a small Lillipup who looked like she was injured.

"Lilli, Lillipup" Thomas looked at the Pokémon, then to N, confused.

"I can't understand her, why can't I understand her?" Thomas asked, slightly worried that he might not be the person Unova needed.

"It's a lot harder with Pokémon you don't own, the words don't come straight into our language, it's more of a feeling or sensation and you just have to try and figure it out. It's a difficult thing to do. You are going to have to take care of this Lillipup though. The gift of speaking to Pokémon makes capturing more than one from an area impossible, not sure why. I caught Nibbles at the spot I buried her so you have to take her." N looked like seeing the Lillipup in pain was painful for him.

Thomas looked at the Lillipup and lowered his voice, moving slowly towards the small Pokémon. As he moved he drew a Pokéball from his belt and started trying to sooth her.  
"Easy, easy now, its ok I'm going to make you better." The Pokéball changed from red and white to pure white with a blue band, opened and the Lillipup disappeared in a flash of light.

"Look Team Plasma has another speech planned for Striaton City; you can get a ride on the bus with us." N paused for a minute, thinking. "Probably don't mention to my father that you can talk to Pokémon though he might get the wrong idea. I don't want him to try and do something stupid"

Thomas nodded, "all right, no talking to your dad. So who am I not talking to?" Thomas asked, taking a swig from his water bottle.

"Ghetsis." N said and Thoma started spluttering and choking.

"Your dad is Ghetsis? The same Ghetsis that wants to stop me from being me? Well this just got complicated." Thomas sighed "well probably better we know now. All right let's get going." Thomas said as the two of them walked to the bus.

…

Stepping off the bus at Striaton City's bus terminal Thomas hurried off to the Pokémon Centre. Since he had caught the Lillipup there was now the very real risk if her dying. Thomas dashed through the doors shouting "Nurse, Nurse. My Lillipup is very badly hurt and I'm worried about her. Please can you save her?" Thomas was starting to panic, he was really worried about the Lillipup.

"Yeah of course we can save her, Pokémon don't die from injuries." The nurse was so blissfully unaware of the struggle that was ahead of Thomas and N. It looked like N would be the only one who would know what Thomas would go through. Thomas settled down to wait.

…

Thomas had fallen asleep in the chair in the Pokémon centre waiting for news on his young Lillipup and he woke to a young Panpour poking him.

"Uggh" Thomas groaned as he woke, cracking his neck and looked at the small blue monkey smiling at him. "What do you want Panpour?" Thomas asked and felt a series of sensations from the blue monkey.

"_Protects Lillipup, waits in the not sleeping place, uses water gun from his eyes, uses growl to lower own attack?" _The sensations were difficult to understand and even harder to understand the true meaning of. Thomas sat there thinking through each of the sensations and trying to match up what he was doing.

"You are wondering why I care about a Pokémon I met today? Or are you wondering why I let a Pokémon become so hurt?"

"_Rest didn't work, but the Lillipup is still hurt, waiting for her, wants to know you." _ The Panpour smiled and Thomas smiled back. He liked this curious monkey Pokémon. Thomas raised his Pokéball, which again turned pure white with a blue band and the monkey Pokémon touched the button and disappeared in a flash of light.

"Here is your Lillipup, she is safe and sound and seems happy to see you." Thomas looked up into the smiling face of the nurse, relief washing over him. She was safe, well as safe as any Pokémon he caught would be. He was about to ask where she was when he heard a series of high pitched yips punctuated with cries of 'thank you'.

The Lillipup leapt up into his lap and continued yipping her thanks. Thomas just gazed at the face and the sheer joy expressed by this little puppy. He released his other three Pokémon from their Pokéballs; Flick, Daskin and his currently unnamed Panpour.

"Daskin? What are you doing here? I thought you went to become the best Lillipup ever?" The new, young girl Lillipup was yipping in surprise, Daskin and Thomas were both shocked to silence for a few seconds.

"Well, I…uh, well this trainer caught me Nicky. He can understand our speech, I think he will help me to become the best Lillipup there ever was." Daskin said.

The new Lillipup; Nicky seemed content with this idea, but then she suddenly looked embarrassed, "Daskin we had a promise, that we would try to become the best Normal types in the world, without the help of a trainer." Nicky started to walk away before the Panpour stepped in front of her, blocking her exit.

"Excuse me young miss, but from my observations you were grievously wounded when Thomas brought you in here. I am not saying that you owe this man a debt I am saying that perhaps, for now this fine man could aid you in your goal." The Panpour spoke in a refined, dignified manner.

"Yeah well nobody asked you Panpour." Nicky barked back causing the Panpour to take a step back.

"What is your name anyway Panpour?" Thomas asked; trying to stop Nicky and the Panpour having a fight.

"I am Sir Percival and I along with my friends, Sir Drake and Sir Amazon form the Type Triangle. We have lived in Striaton City for some time now and we have decided as a group that we should seek out a trainer to assist." Percival gave a bow to finish his speech.

"Thank you for choosing me Percival." Thomas said, recalling all his Pokémon except for Flick. "Do you think I should tell them that they have the possibility of dying? I don't want to scare them off so soon but I don't know how they will take it if it actually happens in front of them."

Flick thought for a few moments, "I'm not sure; it is your choice after all but whatever you decide I will accept your decision. If you choose not to tell them straight away I'll honour that decision."

Thomas smiled as he stroked Flick's head. Talking to Pokémon was both a blessing and a curse.

"Thank you Flick. I won't tell them, not yet."


	5. Striaton's triplets

**Striaton's Triplets**

Thomas stood in front of a restaurant called _Triplet Treats_ with instructions to deliver a later to one of the people inside. As he walked towards it Cheren and Bianca arrived.

"Hey Thomas, how's the Pokémon collection coming?" Cheren asked.

"I've got four pretty interesting ones at the moment, what about you to?" Thomas asked, smiling at the sight of his two closest friends.

"We've got three each now. Anyone have any idea why we need to see these guys?" Bianca asked.

"Not too sure but we should probably do it anyway, it's probably something important at least." Thomas said leading the three of them into the building.

Inside was a large, open and airy dining room with seats for at least sixty people. The tables were all well decorated and the people dining in the room were all well dressed and eating what looked to be expensive food.

"Greetings my young friends, would you care to partake in one of our delicious meals." The man that greeted them was well dressed in very fine pants, a crisp long sleeved with shirt with a navy blue vest over the top and short blue hair.

"We aren't exactly here to eat, we each have a letter for the Striaton Triplets and we were told that they would be here." Thomas said.

The man with blue hair started to laugh, "Well then my friends you are in luck. I am Cress the youngest of the three; may I see your letters?"

"Of course." Cheren said handing his letter over. The three of them noticed for the first time that each letter was marked with one of the names of the triplets. Cheren was holding the one marked for Cress.

Cress grabbed the letter addressed, opened it and read it quickly in front of them. "Hmm that's interesting, allow me to fetch my brothers although I think the letters addressed to them will say a similar thing." Cress left them standing there for a few short moments before he returned with two equally well dressed people, one with red hair and a red vest and the other with a green vest and green hair.

"These are my brothers, Chili and Cilan, your letters please." Thomas handed his letter to Chili and Bianca handed hers to Cilan. The brothers looked at the letters quickly and smiled.

"Looks like we will have to make a bit of room." Chili looked at a waiter on the other side of the restaurant "Francois we need to make space for a battle."

The waiter pulled a lever on the far wall and the floor smoothly opened to reveal a large battle field and glass barriers rose to protect the restaurant from any harm.

"We as the Striaton Triplets challenge each of you to a battle with one of us." Cilan said. "The letters were delivered to your opponent in the upcoming battle. I wish you all the best of luck. Who would like to go first?" Cilan asked as Thomas and Cheren grinned, ready for a battle and Bianca hesitated.

"Thomas, you have the first battle, you were the first here." Cheren said stepping aside to allow Thomas access to the battlefield.

"Well this should be a really good match. I challenge you to give me as spicy a match as you can." Chili looked excited for the battle. " All right Lillipup let's heat this up." A Lillipup appeared in a flash of light.

"This should be interesting , Nicky let's get this done." A second Lillipup appeared, a serious expression on her face.

"This should help me become the strongest Lillipup ever." Nicky said ready to fight.

"Allright Lillipup use tackle" Chili shouted to start the battle. His Lillipup dashed forward.

"Nicky, dodge it." Thomas shouted.

"Not a chance in hell Thomas." Nicky ignored his command and charged straight towards the Lillipup. The two brown dogs collided with Chilli's Lillipup getting knocked back and to the ground.

"See there's no point in dodging; I am tougher than this Lillipup. Now let's end this battle." Nicky charged ahead and slammed her body into the Lillipup again, knocking it out.

"Nice work there Thomas," Chili smiled recalling his Lillipup. "Interesting how she doesn't seem to listen to you though."

"She's new" Thomas said then spoke to Nicky "You didn't listen, why didn't you listen?"

"I don't need to listen to your instructions, I'm strong enough to take down opponents my way."

"Well that's the end of your involvement in this match. One day you might need to listen to me, just keep that in mind." Thomas said as he recalled Nikky into her Pokéball.

"One more Pokémon, come on out Pansear." Chili said as he released another Pokéball to release a small red monkey, similar in size and appearance to Percival.

"Ok then, it's time for Percival." Thomas released a Pokéball and his Panpour; Percival.

"Well I certainly was not expecting to see you here." Percival said as he saw the Pansear.

"You know this guy?" Thomas asked.

"Indeed I do. He is one of the past leaders of the Type Triangle, the same group that I once lead until I joined your journey. I would enjoy testing my skills against him once again." Percival and the Pansear were watching each other's moves carefully.

"Ok then, let's see if you are strong enough. Percival use scratch." Thomas shouted and Percival lunged forward to slash at the Pansear with his claws.

"Pansear overpower it and scratch it." Chili shouted.

The two monkeys met each other in the centre of the arena, their claws meeting each other's in a frantic, razor sharp dance. The monkeys clashed, leapt back and lunged right in again neither able to gain the upper hand.

"Pansear use Incinerate, let's spice things up." The Pansear opened its mouth and shot out several fireballs, hitting Percival and obscuring it in the smoke.

"Is that all the force you can muster?" Percival said as the smoke cleared to show him, still standing and ready to finish the fight.

"Percival use Water Gun." Thomas shouted and the blue monkey launched a strong blast of water, sending the Pansear flying across the arena and knocking it out.

"Well done Thomas. Pansear return, that was an impressive battle." Chili said as he walked across the arena to shake Thomas' hand. As the two grasped hands Chili leaned in and whispered into Thomas' ear "Wait for your friends to have their battles and then speak to the three of us, we have a task for you."

Thomas took his seat to watch his friends have their battles.

…

The two battles were over and they had been very entertaining to watch, Cheren had had little difficulty with Cress because he had also found an elemental monkey, Percival said it was Sir Amazon a long-time friend of his and one of the members of the Type Triangle.

Bianca's battle had been more difficult she had struggled against the Cilan's Lillipup and then when his Pansage came out her Pansear was tired; the battle had ended in a draw. Thomas congratulated his friends on their good battles and walked up to the triplets.

Chili was the first to speak up " Thomas we need you to go and see Leonora, an Archeologist in Nacrene City."

"Is this all my Pokémon journey is going to be? Go here see this person, go here see this person." Thomas asked, getting a little annoyed at how the freedom of a Pokémon was just a lot of walking to go see specific people.

"Hopefully not, but your visit to Leonora is important, there's a few things she can clear up for you." Cress said.

"Like what?" Thomas asked, maybe he would find out what was special about his Pokémon.

"Like you might be the Hero of the White. One of two people who has a chance to save this region." Cress said simply.

"N already told me I am, why could Leonora make such a difference?" Thomas asked, Thomas asked, wondering if everybody knew more about him than he did.

"Leonora can confirm it for you; she can also tell you what exactly it means to you and your Pokémon and Unova." Cress said.

Thomas went to leave the restaurant before Chili shouted out to him "Visit the Dreamyard before you go to Nacrene City it's an interesting tourist site. You should try to enjoy your journey before you get too busy."  
Thomas smiled and waved as he left walking towards the Dreamyard.


	6. Of Dreams

**Of dreams**

The Dreamyard was a remnant of an older time, a ruin of its former self that made a wonderful habitat for several Pokémon. The old style buildings barely stood covered in vines and ancient drawings.

A small Patrat stood lookout on a ledge and upon seeing Thomas, screamed and fell off onto the ground below, landing hard. Thomas ran over to the little Patrat to see if it was hurt.

The Patrat was in tears, it was only a young Patrat and the fall, while causing no serious damage had shocked it and now she was crying. As Thomas reached down to pick up the young Pokémon he saw a group of Patrat led by a Watchog looking on. As soon as his hands touched the Patrat they all turned away and one Patrat raced up to where the young one had fallen from.

"Umm, what did I do?" Thomas asked to no one in particular so he was surprised when a tiny voice answered him.

"It is a bad thing to be with human, they don't like me anymore" The Patrat said and she burst into tears again, this time at the sadness of being abandoned.

"I am sorry, I didn't know." Thomas said to the Patrat as he raised a Pokéball, "What's your name?"

"Lucy" the Patrat said between hiccups. "Can I come with you mister? They don't want to be my friends anymore." Lucy just looked so said.

Thomas was feeling terrible, he had taken away the only family this Patrat had known, she was so young, too young for this to happen to. Even worse was that death was a possibility for all of them. No child should have to be put through this, but it would be worse to leave her here, abandoned by her family. Thomas raised the Pokéball in response and Lucy became his next Pokémon.

Looking at one of the buildings ahead of him, Thomas saw a round circle, half was black, and half was white. Thomas brushed away the vines covering the rest of the picture and then when it became clear the picture was part of a story he eventually removed all the vines on the wall.

The pictures showed a map of Unova, but something was different about it. The next picture showed two people; one with a black dot for a head and one with a white dot for a head. Over the course of the next pictures the two people battled each other on several occasions until finally each was completely coloured in, one black and one white.

The two were completely coloured in and they stood together to stand against a person entirely grey. The next few pictures showed a series of brutal battles of the black and white person working together against the grey one. The final pictures showed the Unova region burning with the black, white and grey people all fallen on the battlefield that Unova had become.

Thomas looked at the scenes on horror; this must be what Ghetsis was talking about in Accumula Town. Most of what he had said then matched up, the Heroes of Black and White fighting several times and Unova being destroyed, but the grey man hadn't been mentioned, Unova had only been destroyed by fighting against him, who was he?

"Impressive isn't it? It's one of only two in the whole region and the second one seems incomplete but it tells a different story." Thomas jumped and gave a yell at Alan's voice behind him. "Good to see you again Thomas."

"Good to see you too, so what is this other one you speak of?" Thomas asked getting his heart rate back under control, looking back at the final image, of the black, white and grey people dead while Unova burned.

"It's supposedly deep in the Relic Castle out in the desert. I haven't seen it myself but I've heard about it." Alan walked up to the painting, looked at it for a moment then starting pointing out things to Thomas.

"Like here, what Unova looks like at the start is different, the other one is closer to Modern Unova and here black and white have one final battle which leaves only one standing. The last picture on that painting before the wall just breaks away is of one person fighting the grey one."

"Any idea what it all means?" Thomas asked, fumbling around in his backpack for his map.

"Not really, I've heard it is some ancient cycle that comes around occasionally, and that a few special people are involved but as for a deeper meaning or the truth, not a clue." Alan said looking at Thomas as he studied his map "Relic Castle is just off Route 4, near Nimbasa City by the way. If you want to go visit it will take you the better part of a month to get there. "

"Great, thanks Alan." Thomas said finding the location on his map and then packing it away.

"Anytime mate." Alan said. Soon echoed shouts could be heard from across the Dreamyard.

"Don't let it get away. You take that one, I'll get this one."

Thomas and Alan raced towards the sounds to see two men each armed with electrified whips chasing Munna around, stunning them and throwing them into a nearby truck.

"That should be enough for all the dream dust D will need. Hang on we've been spotted." One of the men turned and threw a Pokéball in the direction of Alan and Thomas. The two responded by throwing out Pokémon of their own.

"Let's end this Flick."

"Rooster I'm counting on you"

A Torchic appeared alongside Flick.

"Flick is fast , you take the one by the truck we've got this one." Alan said as his Torchic took off, charging down at the Purrloin that had just appeared.

"Flick let's go" Thomas yelled as Flick raced off, quickly passing both Rooster and Alan and getting to the man's Patrat.

"Patrat, stop that thing, use Bite." The man yelled harshly and the Patrat charged at Flick, fangs bared.

"Dodge it Flick, use Vine Whip." Flick easily dodged the fangs of the opposing Pokémon, dashing to her right. She stopped and with a flick of her wrist snapped out a long vine, knocking the Patrat off its feet.

The trainer growled in frustration and wrapped his whip around Flick. As the electricity ran through her she screamed in pain and fell to the ground.

Thomas felt a surge of fear run through him as he reached for his other Pokéballs "Nicky, Daskin get out here we need you." The two pups appeared in a flash of light "stop that man, use Tackle." The two pups ran at the trainer, who was forced to stop shocking Flick with his whip and use it to defend himself. The electricity of the whip kept Nicky and Daskin away but meant the trainer was occupied with the pups.

Thomas ran over to Flick who had nasty burns across her stomach and back. She was barely breathing. Panic started to wash over Thomas, this was not good: Flick was down for the count, Nicky and Daskin were barely avoiding the whip and Lucy was too young for something like this.

"Percival I need you." Thomas said as he brought out the blue monkey. Thomas looked back to where Alan was fighting to see a huge wall of fire burning its way across the vine covered buildings and grass, approaching Thomas. Percival needed to stop that fire which meant Lucy; his young Patrat would have to fight an older and far more vicious opponent.

"Percival you stop that fire. Lucy I need your help." Thomas said. Lucy appeared as Percival rushed off to fight the fire.

"Lucy, do you think you can fight this Patrat? We need your help." Thomas asked gently, aware that the Patrat was slowly coming closer to Flick.

"No, I can't do it. I can talk to it though; see if we can be friends." Lucy said bounding away.

"Be careful." Thomas called after her as he rummaged in his bag for a potion to try and help Flick. He looked up to see Lucy jumping away from repeated bites from the Patrat.

"Please can we be friends, my family doesn't like me anymore. Please stop trying to bite me." Lucy jumped backwards but the Patrat managed to sink its fangs into Lucy's arm and she screamed in agony.

Thomas was torn. He couldn't help Lucy if he stayed and took care of Flick and he couldn't help Lucy by helping Flick. Nicky and Daskin were still busy and Percival was still fighting the fire. Thomas looked from Flick to Lucy and back again, torn. Another scream from Lucy snapped Thomas to focus.

Grabbing a rock from the ground Thomas threw it as hard as he could at the Patrat. Even though the rock missed it got the attention of the Patrat causing it to charge towards him. Thomas stood between Flick and the Patrat as it leapt towards him and sunk its teeth into his arm.

The teeth dug in deeply, causing blood to run down Thomas's arm and he cried out in pain. The sound of Thomas in pain awoke something in Flick. She stood up with her eyes glowing blue, her white bands shining brightly and surrounded by green energy Flick attacked.

A lightning fast Vine Whip knocked the Patrat from Thomas's arm, grabbed the rat and flung it at its trainer knocking him to the ground. Flick swayed on the spot for a few moments then collapsed to the ground her injuries getting the better of her.

"Firefist, Volcano get the trainer." Alan's voice was followed by a Monferno and Quilava leaping over Thomas and his Pokémon and effectively stopping the trainer from going anywhere. Alan walked up to Thomas and upon seeing his injured arm reached into his pack for some bandages.

"Who are they?" Thomas asked as Alan wrapped up his wound.

"No idea, they were tougher than expected though. They almost beat us." Alan said looking at the injuries Thomas's Pokémon had sustained: Flick was barely breathing with bad electrical burns, Lucy had a wound similar to Thomas, Percival was covered in burns from the fire and Nicky and Daskin were covered in several small cuts and burns from the whip.

"We need to find out who they are" Thomas said. Taking a step towards the trainer by the truck Thomas almost lost his balance, he was unsteady on his feet and none of his Pokémon were looking any better.

Alan caught Thomas before he fell and said "That can wait, we need to get you and your Pokémon patched up, half of you are barely walking. I've got an idea we can borrow their truck, after we release the Munna of course. Zippo, Rooster bring that guy over here, throw him in the back of the truck." A Combusken and Charmeleon dragged the unconscious body of the second trainer over to the truck; Alan's Pokémon had evidently evolved during the battle.

Thomas recalled his injured Pokémon to their balls, something that had not occurred to him during the battle, he had been panicking too much. Thomas climbed into the passenger seat while Alan released the Munna, most of which were only stunned but he kept the worst injured ones in the truck to be looked over at the Pokémon Centre.

The drive back was quiet with the only stop being for Alan to give the two trainers over to members of Team Plasma to handle.

The nurse at the Pokémon Centre was friendly but she looked shocked at the extent of Flick's injuries. She looked at Thomas's arm and cleaned and stitched up the bite marks, and patched up the wounds on all his Pokémon.

"Your Snivy's injuries are severe; it looks as though she kept fighting even after taking such heavy damage, what happened? The nurse asked.

"She stood up just after I got bitten, glowing green and used a Vine Whip that was much faster and stronger than normal." She saved us.

"That sounds like she tapped into her inner strength in order to save you. She will need to rest here for about a week before you continue travelling." The nurse said with a short bow.

"Thank you very much." Thomas said. Alan was waiting in Thomas's room when he got there.

"How bad is it?" he asked, the battle hadn't been easy on him or his Pokémon although evolution had spared them from serious injuries.

"Pretty bad, she has to stay here for a week until she recovers. I just started my journey and now they have all been seriously injured." Thomas sighed and looked out the window.

"Don't blame yourself mate, those trainers were vicious, it's a good thing that we stopped them, even if it was tough." Alan thought he understood what Thomas was concerned about.

"Who were they though is the big question. They mentioned that their boss was called D. It's not much to go on but I would like some answers." Thomas mused aloud.

"Since I can leave in the morning I'll see what I can find out about them. We should probably meet up at the Relic castle, you said you wanted to go there and I should have information for you by then." Alan said as he started to organise his things for an early departure.

"Thanks. Well I'm going to get some sleep, you should too. Good night Alan." Thomas said as he crawled into bed.

"Good night Thomas, see you in a month." Alan said leaving the room.


End file.
